News Releases

Nov052013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in introducing S. 1617, the If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act – legislation to follow through on President Obama’s broken promise: “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. Period.” This bill would make the grandfathered health plans under Obamacare less restrictive and provide flexibility for individuals to keep the plans they already have.

“At least 29 times, President Obama promised Americans that if you like the insurance you have, you could keep it under Obamacare,” said Sen. Moran. “Despite the President’s repeated promises, the fact is that thousands of individuals and families across Kansas are among the millions of Americans who have had their health plans cancelled because they do not meet the law’s requirements. Americans should be in control of their own health care and should be free to choose the plans they want. This legislation would force the President and congressional Democrats to live up to the promise they made to Americans, even if they do not want to honor it.”

The Washington Post’s “Fact Checker” gave President Obama’s pledge that “no one will take away” your health plan a “Four Pinocchios” rating – its highest classification of fallacy. The unfortunate reality is many more Americans have lost their health insurance than have enrolled in coverage under Obamacare. Young Americans and middle-class families are facing significant premium increases they cannot afford, and workers are seeing their hours reduced and their paychecks cut because of the mandates of the law.

Sen. Moran strongly opposes Obamacare and believes the best course of action is to dismantle the law and replace it with practical reforms that are workable and will actually reduce health care costs. In July, President Obama acknowledged that a significant component of Obamacare is broken and delayed enforcement of the employer mandate. The following week, Sen. Moran offered amendments in the Senate Appropriations Committee to delay both the employer mandate and individual mandate. Unfortunately, both amendments were defeated in party-line votes.

Additionally, Sen. Moran is an original cosponsor of the “Delay Until Fully Functional Act,” legislation introduced by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) that would delay Obamacare’s individual mandate until it can be certified that the law’s website and health insurance Exchanges are functional. It is blatantly unfair for the federal government to punish individuals for not doing something the government is requiring them to do when the Administration’s incompetence has made it impossible for them to comply. Sen. Moran believes the entire law should be repealed and replaced, but until that happens American individuals and families must be protected from the disasters created by Obamacare.